S&P 500 racks up sharpest rise since July

U.S. stocks racked up their strongest gain in two months on Monday after Federal Reserve Board Governor Lael Brainard stuck to her dovish stance on interest rates and urged caution about removing monetary stimulus too quickly. Brainard's speech followed earlier comments by Atlanta Fed Bank President Dennis Lockhart and his Minneapolis counterpart Neel Kashkari in which they suggested there was no urgency to raise benchmark U.S. rates. "Today's new normal counsels prudence in the removal of polic